Qian Jing grazed past Hua Yitang’s face and, in an instant, transformed into several arcs of eerie green light that enclosed Yun Zhong Yue from all sides — then snapped together. It was the stratagem known as “openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing at Chencang”: the attack on Hua Yitang was a decoy; the true target was Yun Zhong Yue, caught like a turtle in a jar.

The sudden shift caught everyone off guard. Only Hua Yitang reacted fastest, rolling out of the way like a donkey rolling in the dirt. By then, Lin Sui’an and Yun Zhong Yue had already exchanged twelve moves — one attacking with blade-wind as fierce as lightning flashing across the sky; the other moving like phantom lotus steps, twisting and evasive as a demon of the night. Their hands were locked in combat without pause, and their mouths were just as busy — trading insults and curses.

Yun Zhong Yue ducked sideways to dodge a blade: “You lot have no sense of loyalty — aren’t we at least allies? What’s with this ‘kick someone when they’re down’ routine?!”

Lin Sui’an swept out a strike: “Allies? When the Longshen Temple came down hard, you were the one who dropped everything and bolted — if not for that, would I have been poisoned?”

With those words, Qian Jing thrust out five moves in succession. Three of Yun Zhong Yue’s false beard hairs were shaved off, leaving one lone, trembling survivor in the blade-wind. His feet were practically striking sparks on the ground. “Lin Niangzi, you must be fair-minded! Afterward I led you out of the city and then impersonated you to draw Xuanming Shanren away — even if it wasn’t charging through fire for you, it was at least some measure of making amends!”

“If I hadn’t been poisoned in the first place, none of this chaotic nonsense would have followed!” Lin Sui’an dropped her hips and shifted her stance, and with a reverse slash delivered the move known as the Cauldron-Severing Cut, forcing Yun Zhong Yue back several steps. Then, exploiting the cramped confines of the room, she unleashed three swift moves of Rushing Wind Scattering Autumn Leaves, sealing Yun Zhong Yue into a dead corner of the room, and leveled Qian Jing horizontally across his throat.

“Brilliant!” Hua Yitang sprang up like a carp leaping out of water and clapped his hands in high praise.

Yun Zhong Yue’s entire body was pinned into the wall’s corner. Qian Jing’s blade was mere millimeters from his neck. At such close range, Lin Sui’an could clearly see the edge of his human-skin mask lift at the hairline, a thin sheen of sweat beneath. Her fingers itched:

Why not press her advantage and pin him down, and peel that mask right off his face —

Driven into a dead end, Yun Zhong Yue not only showed no panic — he laughed. His low voice, carried on a breath of ambiguous warmth, fanned across Lin Sui’an’s face. “So, Sister Fang can’t bring herself to beat her little sweetheart, and is taking it out on me instead — that’s a bit unkind, isn’t it?”

Lin Sui’an gave a cold laugh. She pressed in closer, holding the blade tight against his flesh with one hand, and reached for the loose edge of the mask with the other. Yun Zhong Yue yelped: “I found a clue about the talisman water!”

As he spoke, he twisted his shoulder, gave his hand some indescribable flick, and a gourd appeared in his palm — its surface worn to a smooth, lacquered sheen, sealed at the mouth with wax. It was the same type of container the Longshen Temple had used for the talisman water.

Lin Sui’an snatched the gourd and tossed it to Fangke. Fangke pulled out the wax seal and smelled it, and frowned. “It’s empty.”

Lin Sui’an raised an eyebrow. The blade did not retreat by so much as a hair. “The skills of the world’s greatest thief are nothing more than this?”

Yun Zhong Yue pinched the gleaming blade of Qian Jing between two fingers. His mask smiled and formed strange creases. “Doesn’t Lin Niangzi want to ask where I found this talisman water container?”

Lin Sui’an: “Not from the Longshen Temple?”

Yun Zhong Yue: “Naturally not. The place where I found this container was —”

“Xiande Manor.”

Hua Yitang drifted over, fanning his miniature fan, and attentively fanned gentle breezes in Lin Sui’an’s direction. “In these past two days, I have thoroughly investigated the situation: Cheng County has three powers standing in a three-legged balance — the Longshen Temple, Simian Manor, and Xiande Manor. The Longshen Temple is led by Xuanming Shanren; Simian Manor is the territory of the Zhu family of Cheng County; and Xiande Manor is controlled by the Qiu clan. Of these, Xiande Manor and the Longshen Temple are in league together, and over the past two years have suppressed Simian Manor to the point that it can barely draw breath.”

Yun Zhong Yue’s yellow false eyebrows twitched. The micro-expressions of the false mask were remarkably convincing — he produced an expression of genuine admiration. “The skill of the Jingmen’s Young Deputy Master in gathering information is truly without rival in the world.”

“Tch! What could someone as half-baked as you know of the Jingmen’s capabilities?” Jin Ruo slipped in through the door, road-weary and dust-covered, and pulled a face at Yun Zhong Yue. “Over the past two years, Xiande Manor has quietly recruited a considerable number of people from the martial underworld — the majority of them second-rate at best. By my calculations, there are at least several hundred, but strangely enough, that many people are not present within the manor at this time. No one knows where all those martial fighters went — it is as though they entered the manor without a sound, and vanished from it without a sound.” Jin Ruo seized a teacup and drank, catching her breath. “Extremely strange.”

The room fell quiet. Everyone’s expression grew grave. Fangke’s face in particular was one of deep, bitter worry. Only Hua Yitang let out a quiet laugh and said: “Intriguing.”

Yun Zhong Yue tapped the blade of Qian Jing — tap, tap, tap. “I said it long ago: the waters of Cheng County run deep. More friends means more paths forward. Lin Niangzi, move this sword back a little and let me breathe.”

Lin Sui’an rolled her eyes and sheathed the sword. “What do you know?”

Yun Zhong Yue exhaled with relief. He produced a bronze mirror, and with great care and precision pressed down the slightly lifted edge of the mask at his hairline, then produced a cotton puff dusted with powder and began patting his face — more meticulous than any young maiden retouching her cosmetics. Still patting, he said: “I’ve been in Cheng County for some time now, and I’ve noticed that around the middle of every month, Xuanming Shanren goes into seclusion for several days, seeing no one. And during those three days, every night at the dead of night, a company of people leaves Cheng County — like a procession of phantom soldiers passing in the dark.”

Hua Yitang: “Are those the missing martial fighters?”

Yun Zhong Yue nodded. “Judging by their physique and gait, they are far from second-rate. I tried testing a few of them in combat — the strength and speed of these people are extraordinary. Not to overstate it —” Yun Zhong Yue glanced at Lin Sui’an, “— they are at least thirty percent of Lin Niangzi.”

Fangke furrowed his brow and said nothing. Jin Ruo made a sound of disapproval.

Lin Sui’an: “Why do they leave Cheng County in the middle of the night?”

Yun Zhong Yue: “Each person carries two large bundles on their back. From the shape of them, the contents appear to be boxes or something similar. My guess is that they are transporting something outward.”

Hua Yitang: “What is inside the boxes?”

Yun Zhong Yue spread his hands. “Who the hell knows.”

Lin Sui’an: “Why not use carts for transporting goods?”

“This is the strangest part of all.” Yun Zhong Yue widened his eyes. “Once these people cross out of Cheng County’s boundary, they scatter in all directions, each heading alone into the mountains and village roads. Without the ability to split oneself in two, tracking them is extremely difficult.”

Hua Yitang waved his little fan. “The boxes almost certainly contain the Longshen Temple’s talisman water. According to my assessment, the raw material used to produce the talisman water is most likely the Longshen Fruit — the very poison that afflicted Lin Sui’an.”

Jin Ruo was alarmed: “So they are actually smuggling poison outward?! For what purpose? For whom?”

Fangke shook his head. “Medicine and poison are two sides of the same source. If the poison of the Longshen Fruit is used in measured and careful amounts, it can enhance vitality, serve as a healing medicine — and also cause people to crave it and become dependent on it. Much like —”

Hua Yitang: “Five-Stone Powder.”

Silence fell over the room.

Hua Yitang’s fan moved slowly back and forth as his brow furrowed deeply. Lin Sui’an’s hand tightened around Qian Jing. She thought of the visions of Five-Stone Powder she had glimpsed through her golden finger — and of the wailing, helpless “white livestock” in those visions…

Yun Zhong Yue smacked his lips, put away the small mirror, and said: “The way I see it, you should just follow Lin Niangzi’s instincts — tear down the Longshen Temple, raze Xiande Manor to the ground, turn all of Cheng County upside down, and be done with it.”

Hua Yitang looked at Yun Zhong Yue with the expression one reserves for the simple-minded: “Can you guess what would happen if we actually did that? Do you think the people of Cheng County would rip us apart limb from limb and scatter our ashes to the winds?”

Fangke: “The people of the county are heavily dependent on the talisman water in their bodies. I fear that if the supply were abruptly cut off, the consequences would be unimaginable.”

Jin Ruo: “Are you saying the people of Cheng County have been taken hostage by the Longshen Temple through their own bodies?”

Lin Sui’an: “The physical dependency is secondary. The psychological devotion to and fanatical worship of the Dragon God is the far harder thing to break.”

Yun Zhong Yue: “This won’t do, that won’t do — you people from the government are truly troublesome, always hemming and hawing, nagging like old women.”

Jin Ruo scoffed: “At least we don’t blunder through everything headfirst like you.”

That made Lin Sui’an laugh.

Who could have imagined that in this lifetime, she would hear the very person who charged headfirst into everything calling someone else a headfirst blunderer.

Hua Yitang closed his fan with a sharp snap. “The only path forward is to approach this from multiple angles and break each point one by one. Jin Ruo will continue gathering intelligence in the city about the Dragon God legend — ideally tracing the legend back to its origin. Doctor Fang will focus on researching and producing an antidote to the Longshen Fruit poison. Yita and Mu Xia will integrate with the neighbors and townsfolk — chat with them, get close to them. Many secrets are hidden within the everyday conversations of ordinary people.”

Everyone nodded.

“Yun Zhong Yue will continue to infiltrate the Longshen Temple and investigate Xuanming Shanren and the temple’s background.”

Yun Zhong Yue pointed at his own nose. His false eyebrow flew up. “You’re actually willing to trust me?”

Hua Yitang produced two pouches of gold leaf and tossed them over. “This is the deposit. If the matter in Cheng County can be resolved peacefully, there will be ten times this amount as final payment.”

Yun Zhong Yue’s eyes practically turned into two glittering gold bars. “Fourth Young Master of the Hua family truly understands loyalty!”

“As for Xiande Manor — I already have a plan. I will investigate it personally.” Hua Yitang said.

After everyone had their assignments, only Lin Sui’an remained without one. She hugged Qian Jing and gave Hua Yitang a sideways look.

“Ahem — your body has only just recovered. It is better for you to rest and —”

Hua Yitang hadn’t finished his sentence before Lin Sui’an asked: “Are you afraid that if I step outside, I’ll hear yet another round of gossip about myself?”

Hua Yitang looked away: “Er —”

Jin Ruo’s eyes practically rolled up into her skull.

Yun Zhong Yue cheerfully tore the curtain down: “After that night, the idle neighbors came flocking to the Fang clinic to watch the commotion — and what they saw was Doctor Fang, furious as thunder, chasing Mu Tang down three whole streets with a broom. The entire city watched with great enthusiasm. Mu Tang took quite the beating — bruised, battered, and weeping his way through Cheng County — but remained steadfast in his devotion, unbroken in his earnest heart, swearing to spend his remaining days together with Sister Fang until their hair turned white. This moved the young women, young wives, middle-aged aunties, and elderly grandmothers of Cheng County alike, and they all voluntarily came to convince Doctor Fang to be gracious and let the couple be together.” Yun Zhong Yue looked thoroughly entertained. “You really missed something, Lin Niangzi — you can’t imagine how lively it was at the Fang clinic those two days.”

Lin Sui’an: “…Did Doctor Fang really chase Hua Yitang down three streets?”

Yita: “Yes — was very tiring.”

Fangke buried his face in his empty teacup, pretending to sip.

Lin Sui’an: “You worked hard.”

Goodness. It was fortunate she had been asleep for all of it — this was mortifyingly embarrassing.

“Ahem — as the saying goes, every misfortune may harbor a blessing.” Hua Yitang leaned over with a smile. “With Doctor Fang wearing his coldest expression — which comes to him entirely naturally — saying a few disdainful words about my being good for nothing, while I wept and made a show of my sincere devotion — after a bit of back and forth, someone volunteered to introduce me to Xiande Manor for work.”

Lin Sui’an gave a considered nod, her expression turning serious. “Transforming a life-or-death crisis into gossip, using that gossip to rapidly build a connection with the people of Cheng County, then using the townspeople’s simple-hearted sympathy to win you an introduction — a clever and elegant way to infiltrate Xiande Manor. A truly fine stratagem.”

Hua Yitang was immediately so pleased with himself he could barely contain it — his little fan waving with gleeful abandon. “The one who truly knows me is Lin Sui’an!”

Jin Ruo looked on in complete bewilderment. “Master — the Hua fellow went and fabricated all those stories about you two — aren’t you the slightest bit angry?”

Lin Sui’an gave a half-smile. “The stories are about Mu Tang and Fang An. What has any of it to do with me, Lin Sui’an?”

Fangke: “Hmph — fair point.”

Jin Ruo: “Master is truly Master — always prioritizing the bigger picture!”

Mu Xia: “Lin Niangzi is magnanimous.”

Yita: “Pig Man — awesome!”

Yun Zhong Yue wore an expression of utter disbelief. “This actually works?”

“Then I thank everyone for their efforts!” Hua Yitang clasped his hands in a bow.

Yun Zhong Yue shook his head, spun around in a circle, slipped out through the gap in the window, and vanished in a puff of smoke. The remaining group discussed a few more details, then dispersed, each to their own task.

Only Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang were left in the clinic’s front hall.

Hua Yitang’s expression was a little uneasy. He shuffled closer. “You — are you truly not angry?”

Lin Sui’an did not look at him. “The situation at the time was dire. You were left with no choice. Having preserved our lives is already no small thing.”

Hua Yitang inched a little closer. “Truly not angry?”

Lin Sui’an turned her head, and gave a faint smile.

Hua Yitang’s face reddened. He involuntarily let slip twelve gleaming white teeth. “Lin Niangzi is indeed as broad as a prime minister’s belly — ah ah ah ah!!”

His entire person went flying sideways, suspended in midair long enough to let out three cries each pitched a full octave higher than the last, then landed flat on the ground with a tremendous crash.

Lin Sui’an calmly smoothed her robe, crouched down beside him, and smiled sweetly. “I. Am. Not. Angry. At. All.”

And with that, she rose, turned, and walked away — leaving a certain pampered young master lying there with more air going out of him than coming in.

Hua Yitang lay stretched flat for a long moment, then laughed.

It seemed Lin Sui’an’s poison was completely cured.

Mini skit:

The crowd eavesdropping outside the window.

Fangke: “Hmph. He brought this upon himself.”

Jin Ruo: “Heh heh heh heh — I knew Master would give him a good thrashing.”

Yita: “Sishi — that must have hurt.”

Yun Zhong Yue: “Hurt? Please. That pampered fool is grinning on the inside.”

Mu Xia internally very tired: At this rate, when will Fourth Young Master ever manage to win himself a wife?

So much drama lately — it’s really cutting into my writing efficiency!!